Leaves of Gold
by Janet Elizabeth
Summary: Ron finds love with someone other than Hermoine.
1. Chapter One: Mystery Lady

Leaves of Gold:   
Chapter One: Mystery Lady Ron huddled in the lee of the grimy brick wall, just at the entrance to Knockturn Alley and waited. He was eighteen and was about to forbid his mother's cautions about entering the place. His rebellion was coming late in his teens but it couldn't be helped. He had taken a supporting role to his best friend for so long that he desperately wanted to gain some notoriety of his own, at least amongst his peers. So there he stood, shivering despite the July sun beating down on him and waiting until the rest of the street was clear. Just in case someone tried to stop him. 

At last, as his freckles reached their maximum obviousness, the street was empty and he made a dash down the long dark alley that led to the most dangerous part of the wizarding world that was still sanctioned by the Ministry. He kept his head down, making sure to meet no-one's eyes as he passed the few rough denizens until he reached the widening street where the shops that hosted the darkest arts were located. He risked a look upwards and blinked in the dim light. Somehow, the place was suffused with the emanations of what it housed and he had to squint to see into the windows of the shops. Pausing, he looked around carefully to get his bearings. 

To his right were an shady looking inn, a shop with a worn porch and a grimy window that kept opening and closing to dispense what he assumed were foodstuffs, a couple of street vendors selling what appeared to be cursed charms and foreign magic like voodoo dolls and a dilapidated building with a partial sign still attached claiming to be the home of the best poisons and potions. He shuddered and turned to his left. 

The other direction held more shops with each window more grimy and dirty than the last. He shook his head, wondering how anyone knew what the shops were selling. Gathering his courage and shaking back his shaggy red hair, he began to make his way towards the first shop. 

As he reached the window, he peered inside and was startled to see a large picture of a Dementor staring back at him. He stumbled away, and found himself colliding with a beautiful woman with long chestnut hair. He stared at her as she helped him steady himself, and was amazed to find himself reacting sexually to her touch on his shoulder. His eyes were caught by her dark brown ones and he found that he had noticed that she too had a spray of freckles across her nose, much like his own. She smiled at him and then quirked an eyebrow. 

"Are you alright?" She queried, her voice sweet and lyrical. 

Ron swallowed hard and hurriedly licked his lips, hoping his voice wouldn't crack.   
"Uhm, yeah, yeah I'm fine. Sorry." He was able to stammer without sounding like a prepubescent teen. 

"It's okay. I don't bruise that easy." She said and smiled at him again, causing more reaction than he liked to have in public. She continued, "If you don't mind me saying, you don't look the type be down here." 

He felt his face flush redder than his hair as he tried to think of a response. She must have read his mind as she laughed. 

"It's okay. Everyone explores down here at some point." She released his shoulder and stood facing him. He noticed that she was shorter than him with soft, womanly curves in all the right places. He felt his loins betray him even more. He hoped she wouldn't notice.   
"Well, yeah actually, me mum said I wasn't to come here, but I couldn't help myself. I just wanted to...see, really, what all the fuss was about and since my best friend is Harry Po -". He stopped short, hoping he hadn't said too much,   
since Harry was a wanted man these days.   
The woman eyed him carefully, still smiling and took him by the arm. As she led him back towards the alley that led back to Diagon Alley, she leaned close and spoke low.   
"I know who you are dear, your hair gives you away and you look an awful lot like your father. But Ron, I don't think you should say your friend's name out loud like that. These days it's liable to get the same reaction as Voldemort." She finished,   
her lips mere inches from his ear.   
They had reached the Diagon Alley again as she finished where they paused.   
"Don't look so amazed." She said laughing at him gently. "And close your mouth,   
you're catching flies. Now come on, come have lunch with me and I promise to reveal my sources."   
She took him by the arm again and led him away. 


	2. Chapter Two: Tea for Two

Chapter Two: Tea For Two Madame Flourescue's was packed as Ron entered with the still nameless woman, but he didn't see anyone he knew. He let out a sigh of relief and his partner glanced at him curiously. He smiled at her, hoping he looked reassuring.  
She smiled enigmatically back at him and led the way to a small table near the back. As they wound their way through the tables, the woman caught the server's eye and made a brief signal that Ron couldn't fathom.  
At the table, they both sat and listened to the conversation ebb and flow around them. Ron stared at his hands, clenching and unclenching them on the table,  
sneaking glances at the woman. She was letting her gaze wander the room,  
looking at nothing and no-one in particular. He finally stopped bobbing his head up and down to gaze at her profile fully, drinking in her face.  
He wanted to commit the line of her jaw and the curve of her cheek to memory.  
He felt cursed at not being able to run his thumb across the feathery strands of her eyebrow, at not being able to taste the rosebuds of her lips, at not being able to smell her skin and hair at the nape of her neck. He closed his eyes, feeling physical pain at what he was experiencing. Nothing with Hermoine had ever felt like this. A soft touch on his clenched fists made him start and open his eyes.  
"Are you feeling alright, Ron?" Said the still nameless woman, her face a picture of concern.  
Taking a deep breath, he replied.  
"Yeah, yes. Sorry, I was just...thinking about something."  
She smiled gently at him.  
"Not a pleasant something then?" She said, her voice causing waves and ripple to flow over his scalp and down his spine.  
"No, not at all, it was...nothing. Sorry." "No need to apologize, I won't pry again." She said, withdrawing her hand from his.  
He winced at her withdrawal but was saved from explaining that by the return of the server with two gigantic hot fudge sundaes. Ron gaped at the confection before him. The woman laughed.  
"What's the matter? You look like you've never seen ice cream before." She said, pushing a spoon towards him.  
He swallowed hard and laughed.  
"It's not that, but I haven't had one of these for ages."  
She smiled at him again, and grabbed her own spoon.  
"Then it's a good thing I came along."  
Ron paused as he was about to dig in to the pile of cream on the top.  
"My mum would go spare if she saw me eating this. She says it's bad for my complexion. I would be in a lot of trouble." He said, his grin fading.  
The dancing brown eyes watched him for a moment, and then his companion picked up her spoon and scooped a large amount of cream and sauce into it's bowl. She pointed it towards his lips and then caressed his cheek lightly.  
"Then I consider it my duty to reintroduce you to all those dark and forbidden things your mum told you to stay away from." She said, giggling.  
He felt himself flush and then opened his mouth quickly to accept the large gooey mess coming towards him. He clamped his mouth down around the cool creamy dessert and then waited for his companion to pull the utensil away. She did so,  
but slowly, so as to make it seem like a caress. He licked his lips as she watched him intently. He blushed and looked down at the table top for a moment before picking up his own spoon and digging into the sundae. Laughing, she joined him in devouring her own. 


	3. Chapter Three: Surprises

Chapter Three: Surprises Half an hour later, with no conversation interrupting the event, the two sundaes were demolished and both parties were wiping their mouths. The server approached them again, and Ron's companion ordered them coffee. Silence descended over the table. Finally, the woman spoke.  
"I guess you must be wondering who I am, how I know you and why I'm treating you to a sundae?" She said, softly, placing her napkin neatly on the table.  
Ron risked a glance upwards.  
"Yeah, I was actually." He said, his voice deepening slightly.  
She gazed at him a moment or two before answering, but she was stopped by the return of the server again. When the coffee was before them and they had stirred in their sugar, she looked at him again.  
"My name is Carole Elizabeth Bound, and I'm your new Defense Against Dark Arts professor. I know you, not only because of the hair, but because I attended school with your parents." She finished primly, taking a sip of her coffee.  
Ron gaped like he hadn't gaped since he was eleven and Carole laughed at him,  
shaking her head.  
"Close your mouth dear, you never know what might fly into it."  
He shut his mouth with a snap, feeling his teeth rattle in his head.  
"But what happened to Professor Lupin? I heard he was going to come back."  
She smiled slyly at him.  
"He has other things to attend to. His honeymoon for one."  
"Oh, yeah. I shoulda known that since I was at his wedding." He paused and thought briefly. "But that still doesn't tell me why you're treating me to ice cream."  
"And it won't. And I won't tell either. I've decided not to." She said, placing her cup back into the saucer.  
She stood suddenly, grabbing her bag from the floor and straightening her clothes a bit. Ron couldn't help but stare at her curvaceous form as it wriggled before him. He bit his lip, knowing he would dream about that later.  
"Anyway, thanks for the company." She said, ruffling his hair. "I have to dash. Someone to see."  
He stood, cracking his thighs on the table nearly knocking it over.  
"Wait, when will I see you again?" He said, a little too loudly. He flushed deep crimson.  
She paused, not turning to look at him.  
"Oh, well at school at least, but before then, you never know, do you?" She glanced at him, her eyes inscrutable.  
"Cheerio then!" She said as she marched off into the bright July sunlight.  
Ron felt his face fall as he sat with a thump back into his chair. His thoughts were roiling as he felt both physical and emotional turmoil raging through him.  
"But I have to see her again, soon. I have to." He mumbled to himself, not noticing that the light was suddenly extinguished. Finally, he glanced up as someone cleared their throat.  
"Hullo Ron!" Came the booming voice of his old friend Hagrid. "Just enjoying a sundae I see, and not alone then. Where is Hermoine? Gone off to the ladies room and left you on your own?"  
Ron looked up, stricken.  
"No. Not Hermoine. I'm alone. All alone." He said, his voice trailing off.  
Hagrid fell silent before bumbling on.  
"Oh. I see, well, I just saw yer mum a few moments ago, asking me if I'd seen yez, and well, I guess she wants yer to meet her back at the Leaky Cauldron. Yer family is about ready to get back to the Burrow for supper."  
Ron didn't hear him, but he stood and wandered out the door. He felt miserable as he stumbled his way to the Cauldron where he knew his family waited. He didn't want to go home. He wanted to follow wherever his new professor had gone. He wanted to kiss her and touch her and hear her laugh and make her smile. He thought about how beautiful she was and how her skin glowed from within. He felt sick at the thought that he would never know her kiss, or her body beneath his. His face went red at that thought but he kept it clear in his mind,  
knowing that this imagined image of her womanly form lovely and aroused and ready for him would never come true.  
He slammed the door of the inn open as he entered, startling the patrons,  
including his mother, who stared at him over her cup of tea. His eyes blazed at her, then he looked shamefully away as he realized it wasn't his mother's fault. He stumped over to her.  
Molly's face wore a resigned look as she finished her tea.  
"Did you have a nice afternoon Ronald?" She said, her voice masking her true feelings perfectly.  
Ron's heart sank as he heard the hurt in his mother's voice. He had not been an easy teenager and she had not been able to make things any easier for him. He knew she did her best and he felt guilty at his anger over a silly crush at first sight getting beyond him. He sat down, letting his ire drain away.  
"It was alright mum. How about you? Did you get everything you needed?"  
She glanced at him and gestured to the bags filled with fresh food stuffs.  
"Yes, thank you Ronald. Would you mind carrying them for me?" She said, as she stood up, straightening her dress and smoothing her hair.  
"No problem mum. What's all this for anyway?" He asked as he grabbed the heavy carry bags.  
"I did say Ron. Your father and I are having an old school friend over for dinner tonight. She's recently come back to the area and we want to make her feel welcome." Said Molly as she marched to the fireplace with Ron in her wake.  
"Oh, right, sorry. I forgot." He said quietly.  
"Weren't listening more like it, but I'll forgive you dear. You have other things on your mind."  
Ron tried not to feel too guilty as he and his mother stepped into the fireplace with a handful of Floo powder for each of them.  
"The Burrow!" They both exclaimed loudly and together.  
As they stepped from the ice cold flames and into their own living room, Ron heard his father's voice.  
"It's so good to see you again. How've you been keeping, eh?" Boomed Arthur.  
Ron winced. He hated when his father boomed. He sighed and went to deposit the shopping in the kitchen, as his mother rushed ahead of him to greet the visitor. Ron, groaned as his mother gushed out a greeting.  
"Oh you are a sight for sore eyes." She said, with much smacking of lips against cheeks.  
Ron exhaled sharply as he walked into the kitchen. He was not looking forward to meeting another one of his parents dotty old friends. As he entered the room,  
the voice he heard made him drop the carry bags.  
"Molly, Arthur, so good of you to have me." Said Carole Elizabeth Bound.  
Ron stopped in his tracks as he stared at the woman he was now smitten with. She smiled at him as she approached, waving her wand at the discarded groceries.  
"Now that will never do, perfectly good food all over the floor." She said and winked at Ron.  
"Really Ronald." Snapped his mother.  
In moments, the food was picked up and restored to it's perfect state and then Carole was taking Ron's hand in greeting.  
"This is our youngest son Ron. A bit of a fumble fingers sometimes as you can see." Came his father's apologetic tones.  
"Hello Ron." Carole said, holding his hand a moment too long. "Close your mouth, you never know what might fly in there."  
Ron shut his mouth with a teeth rattling snap. 


End file.
